


Flight Delayed

by champagne_cake



Category: Kuroshitsuji : The Most Beautiful DEATH in the World - Iwasaki/Mori/Mari
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Characters Playing Animal Crossing Game(s), Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24596977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/champagne_cake/pseuds/champagne_cake
Summary: Eric and Alan play Animal Crossing!
Relationships: Alan Humphries/Eric Slingby
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Flight Delayed

Eric and Alan did plenty of things together — watching movies, taking quaint walks in the woods, tending to their many, _many_ house plants — however, Alan always insisted he wasn’t much one for gaming. He would sit out as a spectator when Ronald, Othello, and sometimes Grell came over for game nights, only occasionally peeking in on Ron’s Twitch streams when he promoted the link. Admittedly never for very long, for it was a little jarring the loud “epic gamer” persona Ron put on for his audience when streaming, compared to how he acted in person. Not to mention Alan wasn’t all too well-versed on his “over-witches” and his “fork-knives.”

~ ❀ ~

Which was precisely why Eric was surprised to find him unboxing a handheld Switch Lite and a cartridge for _Animal Crossing: New Horizons_ in the living room a month prior.

“What’s all this?” he’d asked. Eric purchased his own Switch the year it first came out. The most he’d ever seen Alan play was mobile Scrabble and puzzle games of the same vein while waiting for the bus or train.

“Oh, a new installment to a game I honestly haven’t played since secondary school. It’s been making the rounds all throughout the office, and everyone talking about it again sort of just gave me a wave of nostalgia. That game has a very tranquil way of passing time, so I thought I’d come back and see what's new. Have you played Animal Crossing before, Eric?”

“Nah, but I knew a few lads in primary who had it on the Gamecube. I didn’t know you played!”

“I did,” Alan smiled, carefully securing the screen protector onto his new device with a cleaning cloth. “It’s what I played up in my room, when I was far too shy to go downstairs and properly greet the guests. You get to be mayor of your own little town, and make your own little life in it, all at your own freedom and pace.”

“Sounds a bit slow for my tastes,” Eric commented.

“That’s alright,” Alan mused, powering on the device for the first time. “Though I do suggest giving it a try. Perhaps it’ll help ease your nerves after work. And you can visit other players on their islands as well!” This caught Eric’s attention. A video game he could play _together with Alan?_ Snail’s pace or not, it was worth a shot. Besides, he was receptive to anything that made Alan happy, as Alan was receptive to his own interests.

“So what do I have to do?" he asked, interest thoroughly piqued. "Cross animals?”

“Why don’t you come find out?” Alan grinned, shifting one seat over, and beckoning to him from the couch as the game started up.

~ ❀ ~

"Damn, won’t let me set foot on your island for a whole day, cause they're still setting up? Dodos aren't even around anymore — what business does that bloke have telling me where I can't go?”

“It serves you right for jumping to the chase so late,” Alan chuckled from beside him, watering a patch of virtual flowers outside a well-developed house, on his smaller handheld device. “You and your neighbors just settled on this island! They need time to get everything up and running — it’s the same for every new player. Besides, you got the yellow airport! Everyone wants that one.” He gave Eric a sympathetic peck on the cheek.

 _“Ahhhlright,”_ Eric sighed, leaving his digital airport, and beginning to shake tree after tree of oranges — his island’s native fruit. It was easy for him to grow impatient of the slow, ever-peaceful pacing of the game. After all, he was much more used to fast-paced first-person shooters and thrilling survival-horror RPGs.

 _“Yaahhh — bees!”_ Midway through shaking his third tree, a wasp's nest fell from its branches, leaving Eric’s avatar with a nasty sting.

“Oh, wasps to be exact — their nests will sometimes just fall out of trees at random. That’s why you’re best carrying a bug-catching net while shaking trees just to be safe.”

“He’s got a _dent_ all across the side of his gorgeous face,” Eric groaned, picking up the nest.

“All you’ll need for _that_ is a good dose of medicine,” Alan chirped. “It’s fairly easy to make, just speak to one of your villagers to get the recipe.” Of course he could’ve considered a little more how the slice-of-life nature of the game would fare against the rugged gameplay Eric was normally used to...but he _was_ excited finally to have something both of them could play together.

Against his own preferred style of play, he suggested, “Might speed things up a bit if you travel ahead in time. But do remember to always stop and smell the roses, or you just might miss the reason you and I came here in the first place.”


End file.
